Embodying the archetype of the Artist is not all Inspiration, Beauty and Bliss, though those magical attributes are felt within the experience of creation, it is not the purpose but rather a consequence to dwelling within the presence of Creativity.
You do not need “to find yourself”. You are alive and that proves you are all ready present - here. Nope. I don’t buy or fall victim to that new age hype one bit (at least not now, within the last four years hehe).
When I went “looking to find myself” that placed me outside of myself, and caused me to chase shadows, it perpetuated disconnection from the very source I sought, my creative spirit.
It is the epitome of searching for your glasses or sunglasses and crying out WHERE ARE YOU!? in frustration, when you were wearing them all along.
This life for me is a healing journey & Art is the best form for that process to unravel. It is for this reason Art, chose me, i did not choose it. The creative process is something i have come to accept and learned to embrace, allow to take place, through the me, myself and I of this Life.
I’ve gained this insight over the years about the creative process, about being an Artist, a creator type, who is in the form of a human being, who desires to live whole heartedly, so much so that is willing to experience whatever is necessary in order to free my creative spirit, and that is this:
The process of cultivating self-worth, claiming your value,
Just as the caterpillar experiences the metamorphosis of its transformation, so do we enter various states of transformation.
To recognize where we are in our evolutionary process impacts our ability to manifest our dreams come true. When we enter the flow of life and begin to gain awareness of when our heart is expanding, we can more easily move into love, for we know what’s up for us and how to meet the needs of our current
There is an ebb and flow, a high and low, that is experienced within an Artists life, learning how to navigate that high and low, to identify where you are in the metaphoric cycle, to lean into the transformative process, to surrender to your inner whispers, is what allows you to Thrive. It is what separates those suffering under the shadow of the starving Artist archetype and those living as a Thriving Artist.
THE TRUTH OF HOW YOU GET YOUR WINGS
It is not sexy to suffer. It is not easy to move into that which causes discomfort but when it comes to freeing the spirit, it is a process worth enduring.
I don’t think a caterpillar has a pleasant experience when wrapping itself in its cocoon, deliberately entering a dark, blind state, completely surrendering to having its caterpillar form liquefied while alive and uncertain what will emerge. During this state, it is vulnerable, completely dependant upon the invisible whispers that called it into its self, inspired it to take action and willingly enter its chrysalis.Those invisible whispers will embrace the caterpillar, support its transformation diligently as the caterpillar “lets go” of its inch wormy state. As it lets go, it is infused with something it has never known until that moment, until the new makes itself known, it doesn’t know the iridescence of its wings or that it had within it the power of flight.
Yet, the caterpillar 's very destiny lies in its transformation. It is destined to be a butterfly, as we are destined to be who we are – “to
SO HOW DOES IT LOOK?
How does it look when a human being enters the process of getting their wings? Sometimes the transformative state brings with it challenges of health, other times a change of perspective, a judgment released, and other times a release of pain so heart can expand. How does it look for you? What are your inner whispers saying?
Truthfully, lately I have been going through a rough patch in my creative cycle. For me, my inner whispers are highlighting the areas of my perception that are no longer supporting me, like the idea that because I am intuitive I am a freak or should expect + brace for the ridicule that accompanies that judgment. This I do not get because we are all intuitive. The only difference between one another are those who listen to those inner whispers and those who don’t.
I believe I am going through the cycle of self-acceptance and this is huge. At times I feel overwhelmed by what I experience in Life and wonder how the heck I’m going to move past set backs and traumas. There seems a lot to release, so my whole heart, self worth and value of spirit can truly emerge and ground itself within everyday life, influence daily experiences, and ultimately continue to transform Life and bring a deeper presence to experiencing those dreams come true.
I've learned to live with hypothyroidism and though there is a treatment, there is no cure and sometimes even though taking the right meds, it still goes plummeting down. This is teaching me patience and accepting that I need a bit more rest than I’d like to admit (at times) and to create the space to do just that. It is also teaching me trust because I have an energy within me that is wired for completion, it won’t stop until completion is completed (this is especially true for inner work).
Practicing tenacity has given me the strength to endure the pain that comes with living in a dualistic realism.
I’ve learned that nothing is ever completely bad or completely good and that both do exist simultaneously. I feel my life lesson isn’t about slaying evil or emoting light but rather to steadily shine regardless of situation or circumstance. To trust that with winter comes spring and that the tides ebb and flow, the moon shines full only to hide once again, and that the truth is, we are all just caterpillars inching along gathering what is needed to enter our chrysalis and emerge with wings.
EXPRESSING THE ENERGY OF TRANSFORMATION + LIVING MORE TRANSPARENTLY
This post signifies a new emergence on the blog, for it to has gone through its transformation, Marked by the Muse™ has gotten its wings and will be openly holding a space to honestly share the creative cycle, the ebb and flow of life and how to navigate the highs and lows of life. Have you experienced the highs and lows of living a creative life? How have you embraced this cycle? Or do you struggle?
I hope to open the conversation of what it means to be a creative person, to embody the Artist Archetype and navigate the highs and lows of life. I feel inspired to start this series because it is part of what i experience as a creative and is the heart of my creative process, which of coarse inspires me to share and create new images, writing, audio etc… It is also allows for the mission of this blog to emerge more in the public and hopefully support other creatives along their paths, look for more to emerge and take flight and please feel free to share how you manage the ebb and flow of your creative cycle.
PS I am not the only one who has felt the call of this emergence, for my fellow coconuts are talking and whole-hearted friends (and more friends) + respected teachers Caroline Myss
, Marisa and Sean, and of course don’t forget the courageous flock – all thirty-seven.There are courageous spirits fluttering all around – who have you noticed?
p.s.s in the spirit of full discloser and not wanting to hurt anyone of my my dear friends or family members to whom i have not linked to....um. there's so many creative that i'm unable to link to everyone...so sorry. please know the ones i did link to are in no particular order and have engaged this very conversation with me within the last three days.
LINKS TO THIS POST:
1. http://sidhesays.com/2011/04/21/creative-cycles/
2. http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=219344901415342&id=134317603251406
8 Comments | What are your creative thoughts?:
Thank you for the post. I will read it again, and let it all sink in, and process. It is deep and meaningful. I will be back to post more after I ponder. Until then, just thank-you.
xoxo sincerley shelley
Hello Shelly
It is a lot to take in - isn't it? I feel this is a very important reality to bring into the creative conversation. The ebb and flow of creation, of LIFE is important to share, not only as human beings but as Artists as well. I believe developing the skills to "Ride" such waves, cycles throughout life is the key to maintaing joy and ultimately to living a fulfilled life; for in that ability lies a choice, to give up or persevere. AND if you choose persevere, then how the heck do you do so without becoming broken. I feel that answer is the difference between those who give up or become some worn down that they spiral into self destruction and those who "make it."
One of my favorite writers is Julia Cameron. She wrote The Artist's Way. I once heard a lecture by her where she expressed facilitating a class where she showed her film students all the failed creations that successful film makers made, before creating just the right one, the one that offered what they were seeking to create to a larger audience and thereby made them successful, known, popular. She showcased really bad B-movies made by George Lucas for example (and a variety of other well named film makers).
Her point was that our society has a tendency to focus on success. PERIOD. and to accept that failure is part of the process. I loved bringing this into the conversation and so agree!
I realized, often is the case, that great struggle in wading through self-doubt and nay sayers, take place when striving to bring our vision, our dream, or calling into the world - especially if that vision, dream, calling isn't in a form easily accepted by the collective consciousness, like being an image maker, an Artist typically isn't. If your dream isn't a 9-5 job then some can have real issues w/you stepping out of the box. I want to talk about what some of the issues are based off of what we've experienced so that we can over come them - not perpetuate or feed into them. The later is definitely not my intention. It's important to me to be mindful of that when discussing navigating that high and low within life and not to get stuck in the undertow of the "low" - i don't see that as being helpful or supportive, rather negative and destructive. So how do we talk about it w/out feeding into it?
This post speaks to me so much... the ebb and the flow, it is such an intrinsic part of our lives, as artists (as people, really!) but we don't acknowledge it enough. Or maybe it's just that it has only really become clearer to me in midlife?
Beautiful post Stephey. So glad you took the plunge to discuss all sides to this life as an artist. I had not idea that you have been dealing with so many personal challenges as well. I'm sorry if it has felt harder than usual these days. I know it has for me over the last couple of months. It brought me great comfort to read the part of your post "So how does it look?". I think we are conditioned in society to view experiences as good or bad, working or not. One of the ways I'm learning to go with the ebbs and flows is to change that way of thinking into seeing everything as working ~ even if it is a reminder to struggle less and thrive more.
So much good food for thought here. Thanks for always being willing to share so much of your heart Stephey.
Hello Alexis
The ebb and the flow, it is such an intrinsic part of our lives - for every human being. I do believe that we don't acknowledge the ebb and flow of LIfe. I think we Americans view it as an inconvenience in life, or worse still that we're doing something wrong and it (the challenge) shouldn't be happening. And if we could only figure out how to be better, more successful, smarter, more - these inconvenient ebbs would disappear all together and we'd be rewarded with nothing but the experience of being in the positive flow. It's ridiculous if you think about it (logically hehe), Spring doesn't think that if its blooms lasted a bit longer it would be spared winter does it? I don't think so, so what makes us expect differently? And can you have Spring without winter? Ebb without flow? I wonder if it would be a more harmonious experience if we invested in learning to embrace change more than promise for things to stay the same?
Hi Marisa Thank you for sharing your thoughts and stopping by, so glad you enjoyed the post. I'm so sorry to hear that you've been feeling challenged the past few months as well. I think you're right, sometimes, I too wonder if the ebb comes on a collective consciousness level, a universal shift. I feel during that time, the various challenges present themselves to expand our perceptions, our minds and ultimately our hearts. I think the key is to choose that path, that view point and embrace the ebb, lean into it and let it transform~even if it's accepting that it's uncomfortable, painful at times. I believe there is a lot of power in self-acceptance. To honor ourself, our feelings, thoughts and needs, what we are going through in the moment or series of moments that make up our day, week, month, year while simultaneously moving forward. I really believe this is a daily practice in thought and action ~a begin + continue practice not an end game or point of arrival.
YOU ARE inspiration!
Hugs Galore Sweetheart.
MCatherine
Hide A Heart
PS:
Artists have the most amazing way of redirecting pain into creating beauty.
MCatherine
Hide A Heart
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